Happy Friday everyone, another big week in craft beer in our region, so let’s get right to it.

• Last month, we reported on the announcement of a collaboration beer between Picaroons and Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery for this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards in Fredericton. We now have a few more details on the beer, as both breweries just brewed the beer earlier this week. Brewers Andrew Estabrooks (Picaroons) and Mike Lackey (Great Lakes) decided on an American IPA they’ve named Eastbound and Down IPA; it’s brewed with Maritime Malt made from New Brunswick-grown Newdale barley and “a number of delicious hop varieties” (including Citra and Sorachi Ace) often featured in Great Lakes beers. We can also confirm that a California Common yeast was pitched for fermentation, rather than the Ringwood strain commonly employed by Picaroons. Both breweries were linked via Skype on their brew day since they weren’t able to physically brew together. Look for the beer to be released at the end of May when the CBAs are here; it will be available for growler fills at the Brewtique, and in restaurants and bars in the area.

• Speaking of Picaroons, they’re joining up with The Shadow Lawn Inn in Rothesay, NB for a special beer-pairing dinner on Saturday, May 3rd. This “Offaly Good Dinner” includes six carefully-selected courses by Chef Markian, each of which is paired with a different hand-picked Picaroons beer. Tickets are $75 (tax and gratuity included); call (506) 847-7539 to reserve, or send them an email.

• If you’re in the Sackville area today and have always wondered what makes PEI Brewing Co. beers tick, now’s your chance to find out! Ducky’s Bar is hosting a “Meet & Greet” with PEIBC brewer Karen Allen at 5:00 pm. Karen will be on hand for about an hour to answer questions and provide info on their beers, four of which will be on tap: Blueberry Ale, Sir John A’s Honey Wheat, Cole’s Cream Ale, and Beach Chair Lager. Be sure to keep an eye on their News page for behind-the-scenes updates directly from the brewers.

• Beginning today, White Point Beach Resort is hosting a Beer and BBQ weekend. Boxing Rock and Hell Bay will be taking over White Point’s taps all weekend long, with Boxing Rock bringing their Hunky Dory, Temptation Red Ale and The Vicar’s Cross and seasonals Crafty Jack English Ale and Alewife’s Revenge, and Hell Bay will have three more beers to complete the lineup. Boxing Rock is kicking off the fun Saturday afternoon at 1:00, with a guided tasting and virtual brewery tour. At 4pm, Hell Bay and the White Point culinary team will be doing some pairing of their beer with barbecued treats. Both tastings are included with an overnight stay.

• Progress continues at the soon-to-open Railcar Brewing Company in Florenceville-Bristol, as owner/brewer Mitch Biggar has confirmed that he has been busy putting on the final touches – cleaning, painting, sanitizing, and receiving new equipment, with currently eight 50-gallon (~187 L) fermentors being installed. With some test batches being brewed this weekend, we hope to see the brewery open for growler fills by the end of this month! Look for a grand-opening party to follow shortly thereafter, probably sometime in the summer.

• Living in Moncton? If so, you’ve probably been drinking GrimrossBelgian Rye IPA at the Tide & Boar over the past few months. If that has left you wanting more Grimross beer, good news… owner/brewer Stephen Dixon confirmed that he has delivered some of his Pugnacious Porter, a 5% Belgian-style Porter conditioned on pure cocoa and whole vanilla beans, to the Tide & Boar this week, so look for it soon.

• The Rockbottom Brewpub SMaSH India Pale Lager that we mentioned in late March has been tapped at the brewpub in Halifax. Brewed solely with Superior Pale Ale Malt and Galaxy hops (including multiple dry-hop additions), Intergalactic SMaSH’d Lager finished at 7.1% ABV and 70 IBUs (calc). Get down to the brewpub to give it a try, it won’t be around for long!

• A reminder that The Stubborn Goat is keeping up their Cask Friday event, when they have a special beer tapped each Friday at 4pm. This week’s is Big Spruce’sCereal Killer Sideways, their Oatmeal Stout, fortified with Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch.

• The Chronicle Herald has a nice article about Jeff and Kari of Bad Apple Brewhouse, on their history, as well plans for the future. It also mentions an upcoming Mosaic Double IPA, which will be released around Father’s Day, that will serve as a fundraiser towards the Brigadoon Children’s Camp Society. We’ll have more details on the beer closer to release time.

In closing, we thought we should mention another story reported by The Chronicle Herald concerning a 21-metre Labatt blimp that crashed northeast of Saint John. Nice to see that Big Beer is finally starting to evacuate Atlantic Canada, what with the increasing number and quality of local craft breweries!

No can argue about the explosion in the number of new micros and nanos in the Maritime, The unfortunate thing is quality does not seem to have followed suit. I can’t speak to the cause; could be education, training, experience, or all of the above. Whatever it is, these newbies (and a few established guys) need to clean up their act before they give the whole industry a bad name. All joking aside, craft could learn a whole lot about quality from big brother Labatt, who I’m sure is laughing it’s ass off at some of the crap that is being passed off as “quality craft”.